Barefoot Technologies Blog- Vacation Rental Industry News

Here's a great example of leveraging video from our client Atlantic Realty.

According to a Google recent survey conducted by Ipsos MediaCT, ”two out of three U.S. consumers watch online travel videos when they’re thinking about taking a trip.” That is why, as a vacation rental manager, it has never been more important to make sure videos are part of your marketing plan. Not only used for each of your rental properties, videos are excellent marketing tools for the company itself.

Here are several reasons why you should use videos to market your vacation rental management company:

Allows Guests to Connect with Rental Managers. When booking vacation rentals, much of the conversations are done on the phone without ever seeing the people who guests talk to about vacation rentals. By featuring videos on your website or even on YouTube, you allow guests to connect with you and your rental managers. Even though people generally base their rental decisions on the rentals they like the most, when putting a face to a name is added to the mix, suddenly guests want to do business with someone they “know.”

Lends Authority. Videos offering tips and suggestions lend authority especially to knowledge about the destination. For example, vacation rental managers in Orlando can provide a wealth of information about how to plan a Disney vacation, including secrets and suggestions to make the trip go smoothly. With most any destination, adding a video that focuses on tips like this lends authority to the vacation rental management company. Just to further make the point, of those people 25-64 who subscribe to YouTube travel channels, two-thirds of them are looking for tips, reviews and how-to’s (Source: YouTube Data, March 2014) that pertain to the destination in which they are interested. Imagine the how much that would help your site if you had that type of video right there where users can click instead of having to keep searching.

Brings Rentals to Life. Adding a video to a rental description brings rentals to life. Yes pictures are great and allow guests to see the main rooms, but when a video is added, it is almost like they get to walk through the rentals before making a choice. Younger travelers like this.

Promotes the Destination. There is nothing like seeing a vacation destination before making the plans to visit. Videos from vacation rental management companies showcase a destination in a different way than a resort can. Vacation rental managers can promote the destination from a “local perspective” featuring the places that locals like, fun activities that are not as well-known and amazing videos from other tourists and their adventures in your market.

Live the Vacation. Videos allow your guests to vicariously live the vacation through the video. They allow guests to feel like they have been there before they even go. This kind of goes back to lending authority and making the choice to work with your vacation rental management company easier and more personal.

Add Videos to Your Website As a vacation rental manager, it has never been more important to add videos to your site. On top of the benefits stated above, chew on this for a while. According to Google, 50 percent of YouTube travel channel subscribers are between 25 and 64 years old, while 38 percent are between 18 and 24. Depending on your guests’ ages, they approach destination surfing differently. The former group likes to look at videos to get a feel for the destination as well as the people with whom they work; the younger end is more interested in vlogs (video blogs) where they feel like they are already on vacation. Either way, you will be more apt to increase your business by adding videos to your websites and blogs.